Bailey03's WIP
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Bailey03
Well-known member
Thanks, TomasP, Meph, Milosh, and Digganob. Your comments really mean a lot! (By the way, I just saw Hook the other day!)
I'm going to take a slight digression in this thread to talk about my photo setup. Demi asked about it and I thought it was better to post pictures here than hijack his thread. And for anyone else who is interested here's how I photograph my figures...
You need some sort of light box or diffuser to soften the lights. Otherwise you can get some really harsh glares and reflections. This can be as simple as taping a white piece of paper over the light (careful it's not touching or could be a fire hazard) or as complicated as buying an fancy light box. I went with a low tech solution following this article at MassiveVoodoo
http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.com/2010/02/tutorial-how-to-build-photo-setup.html
In it they show you how to turn a $3 plastic trashcan from Ikea into a lightbox. It works surprisingly well and is a cheap easy solution. The size works well for 28mm to probably 75mm figures and busts. 90mm might be a little too big and doubtful those garage kits will fit, so you may need to come up with another solution if you're trying to photograph something on that scale.
You'll also want to get some sort of photo background. Hanger 18 makes some really nice photo backdrops but I went the cheap route and grabbed mine for free off MassiveVoodoo. All you need is a color printer and then a little sticky tack to hold it on the back of the lightbox.
http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.com/2010/05/photo-backgrounds.html
For my lights I just use the same lights I paint with. They are two swivel lights also from Ikea and I've installed daylight bulbs in each (13W). The daylight bulbs mean I don't have any issue with color shifts in my photos. Many cameras can correct for the type of light... though they never seem to work as well as I'd like. This just lets me avoid the issue. To take my photos all I have to do is clear off some space and my painting station becomes my photo area. I try to position the lights to either side at about 45 degree angles. They're not quite face on, aimed slightly downward but certainly not too high up. You can see my whole setup below. Currently there is some diffuse light coming through the window shade... but most of my photos are done at night so that doesn't play a role.
View attachment 29423
Here you can see a closer view of the figures in the lightbox and how it looks under the lighting conditions. There's a bit of glare on the background but that's not a big deal. I can angle it or adjust the lights if I want. Unlike most of the pictures I post these two were done with my cell phone (iphone 4S... so not even the latest one). No fancy camera tricks. If I were doing this for the mini and not the setup I'd move closer so the phone could get a more focused and crisp image.
View attachment 29424
Okay, last thing to talk about is the camera. Normally I'm not using my phone but a digital SLR (Canon T3 Rebel). There's another good article on MassiveVoodoo where they demonstrate that you don't need a fancy camera for good photos, a simple point and shoot will work almost as well. But, if you've got a DSLR why not use it?
http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.de/2013/09/miniature-photography.html
I do most of the photography on auto but there are a few things I do set. For my photos I step back from the model and zoom-in all the way instead of trying to get the camera as close as possible to the model. The lens is 18-55mm, so I'm photographing at 55mm. I think they recommend the same trick for taking people's portraits. The other photo trick I use is to set my camera to auto-bracket. For anyone not familiar with this technique what happens is the camera takes one photo at what it thinks is the correct exposure setting, then one slightly underexposed and one slightly overexposed. Cameras aren't very smart. They don't know whether you're taking a picture of a mostly black room or a bright snowy landscape. They think that everything should average out to a medium grey. So that bright snowy landscape will be underexposed and the black room will be overexposed. Auto-bracketing allows you to take 3 photos and assume one will be the correct exposure. Alternatively you could set the aperture and shutter speed... but that's complicated, at least more than I want it to be.
As an example of why I auto-bracket, here's what the camera thought was the 'correct' exposure for Olfo after I'd primed the base black (and put him in front of a dark background).
View attachment 29425
Yeah, that might be a little overexposed. I don't recall painting Olfo as a big bright blur. In this rather extreme case I had to tell the camera to not only auto-bracket but also further underexpose the image. Usually that's not the case but this subject had a lot of black. (Note that the previous image didn't have the same problem because a lot of the white trash can and window shade are showing and help even out the image)
Many cameras have an auto-bracket feature though you may have to Google how to set it up (it wasn't in the Canon manual but the feature is there). If you don't have that option then you may have to change your exposure settings yourself or adjust the lights and background brightness to get everything to come out looking like it does in person.
Oh, one last thing about your camera settings. If you're using a tripod, great! No need to worry about an blur from shaky hands. If you're holding the camera you can help limit the blur by increasing the ISO setting (basically the film speed or how sensitive the camera is to light). Careful not to go too high as that can lead to grainy images. I've got mine set to 800 while the camera can go as high as 3200.
Thanks to the auto-bracketing, lightbox, and daylight bulbs once I take the picture all I have to do is crop and resize the image. Beyond resizing it, there's no need to do any altering of the image on the computer. Remember you really don't need to spend a lot of money on a fancy photo setup. Between the trashcan, the two daylight bulbs, and the cost to print the color backgrounds this ran me maybe $10 or $12. Yes, a fancy camera can help. But with a decent photo setup even my cellphone will give me pictures that look good. No excuses. Go and take amazing photos of your work! :smile:
I'm going to take a slight digression in this thread to talk about my photo setup. Demi asked about it and I thought it was better to post pictures here than hijack his thread. And for anyone else who is interested here's how I photograph my figures...
You need some sort of light box or diffuser to soften the lights. Otherwise you can get some really harsh glares and reflections. This can be as simple as taping a white piece of paper over the light (careful it's not touching or could be a fire hazard) or as complicated as buying an fancy light box. I went with a low tech solution following this article at MassiveVoodoo
http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.com/2010/02/tutorial-how-to-build-photo-setup.html
In it they show you how to turn a $3 plastic trashcan from Ikea into a lightbox. It works surprisingly well and is a cheap easy solution. The size works well for 28mm to probably 75mm figures and busts. 90mm might be a little too big and doubtful those garage kits will fit, so you may need to come up with another solution if you're trying to photograph something on that scale.
You'll also want to get some sort of photo background. Hanger 18 makes some really nice photo backdrops but I went the cheap route and grabbed mine for free off MassiveVoodoo. All you need is a color printer and then a little sticky tack to hold it on the back of the lightbox.
http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.com/2010/05/photo-backgrounds.html
For my lights I just use the same lights I paint with. They are two swivel lights also from Ikea and I've installed daylight bulbs in each (13W). The daylight bulbs mean I don't have any issue with color shifts in my photos. Many cameras can correct for the type of light... though they never seem to work as well as I'd like. This just lets me avoid the issue. To take my photos all I have to do is clear off some space and my painting station becomes my photo area. I try to position the lights to either side at about 45 degree angles. They're not quite face on, aimed slightly downward but certainly not too high up. You can see my whole setup below. Currently there is some diffuse light coming through the window shade... but most of my photos are done at night so that doesn't play a role.
View attachment 29423
Here you can see a closer view of the figures in the lightbox and how it looks under the lighting conditions. There's a bit of glare on the background but that's not a big deal. I can angle it or adjust the lights if I want. Unlike most of the pictures I post these two were done with my cell phone (iphone 4S... so not even the latest one). No fancy camera tricks. If I were doing this for the mini and not the setup I'd move closer so the phone could get a more focused and crisp image.
View attachment 29424
Okay, last thing to talk about is the camera. Normally I'm not using my phone but a digital SLR (Canon T3 Rebel). There's another good article on MassiveVoodoo where they demonstrate that you don't need a fancy camera for good photos, a simple point and shoot will work almost as well. But, if you've got a DSLR why not use it?
http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.de/2013/09/miniature-photography.html
I do most of the photography on auto but there are a few things I do set. For my photos I step back from the model and zoom-in all the way instead of trying to get the camera as close as possible to the model. The lens is 18-55mm, so I'm photographing at 55mm. I think they recommend the same trick for taking people's portraits. The other photo trick I use is to set my camera to auto-bracket. For anyone not familiar with this technique what happens is the camera takes one photo at what it thinks is the correct exposure setting, then one slightly underexposed and one slightly overexposed. Cameras aren't very smart. They don't know whether you're taking a picture of a mostly black room or a bright snowy landscape. They think that everything should average out to a medium grey. So that bright snowy landscape will be underexposed and the black room will be overexposed. Auto-bracketing allows you to take 3 photos and assume one will be the correct exposure. Alternatively you could set the aperture and shutter speed... but that's complicated, at least more than I want it to be.
As an example of why I auto-bracket, here's what the camera thought was the 'correct' exposure for Olfo after I'd primed the base black (and put him in front of a dark background).
View attachment 29425
Yeah, that might be a little overexposed. I don't recall painting Olfo as a big bright blur. In this rather extreme case I had to tell the camera to not only auto-bracket but also further underexpose the image. Usually that's not the case but this subject had a lot of black. (Note that the previous image didn't have the same problem because a lot of the white trash can and window shade are showing and help even out the image)
Many cameras have an auto-bracket feature though you may have to Google how to set it up (it wasn't in the Canon manual but the feature is there). If you don't have that option then you may have to change your exposure settings yourself or adjust the lights and background brightness to get everything to come out looking like it does in person.
Oh, one last thing about your camera settings. If you're using a tripod, great! No need to worry about an blur from shaky hands. If you're holding the camera you can help limit the blur by increasing the ISO setting (basically the film speed or how sensitive the camera is to light). Careful not to go too high as that can lead to grainy images. I've got mine set to 800 while the camera can go as high as 3200.
Thanks to the auto-bracketing, lightbox, and daylight bulbs once I take the picture all I have to do is crop and resize the image. Beyond resizing it, there's no need to do any altering of the image on the computer. Remember you really don't need to spend a lot of money on a fancy photo setup. Between the trashcan, the two daylight bulbs, and the cost to print the color backgrounds this ran me maybe $10 or $12. Yes, a fancy camera can help. But with a decent photo setup even my cellphone will give me pictures that look good. No excuses. Go and take amazing photos of your work! :smile:
Darthmarsh
Active member
I can't believe he's so small! Olfo is absolutely brilliant Bailey The muted blues on the moonlit side are fantastic, suit the mood of the mini perfectly.
Thanks for showing how you photograph your minis. I struggle to get decent ones and I can't afford a proper studio set up (and there's no way I could explain the spend to the missus) so this looks like a great compromise.
With regards to the unknown terror, you cant get worst that glowing eye's in the night. No idea how you'd do it mind you.
Thanks for showing how you photograph your minis. I struggle to get decent ones and I can't afford a proper studio set up (and there's no way I could explain the spend to the missus) so this looks like a great compromise.
With regards to the unknown terror, you cant get worst that glowing eye's in the night. No idea how you'd do it mind you.
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Demihuman
Active member
OMG Bailey thanks for the awesome photo write-up. It helped a lot. Plus Bailbo Baggley'ns is looking amazing. I really want to see some threat though. What about just black monsters? You can always try glowing eyes and ditch them if you don't like them. Air Brushes are awesome!
Darthmarsh
Active member
something like this?
Well been gone on vacation and so many new post in here, other people obviously is not away from home 
So just unbelievably good. really nice work. I just have to try out some OSL one day and this work from you will go into reference material. Thanks for sharing your light setup with us, a good and cheap solution.
So just unbelievably good. really nice work. I just have to try out some OSL one day and this work from you will go into reference material. Thanks for sharing your light setup with us, a good and cheap solution.
Alexandra
Active member
I can't say how much I love this mini and what you've done with it: just jaw dropping!
As for the shooting minis, great tips but if I might add something: it doesn't matter if you have a over expensive gear if you don't now how to work with it ( I talk from personal experience ). Read a lot of tutorial and try different approaches until you get the result you want.
As for the shooting minis, great tips but if I might add something: it doesn't matter if you have a over expensive gear if you don't now how to work with it ( I talk from personal experience ). Read a lot of tutorial and try different approaches until you get the result you want.
Zab
New member
^^^THIS^^^ You can get great results with a point and shoot or camera phone and the right lighting. It all comes down to lighting - tripods help too. Even if it's just a small tabletop one. Bailey03 is using the same kind of set up as Meg Maples and many of the top painters from the EU. Cheap Ikea trash can and some lamps with daylight bulbs.
BloodFather of Kharnath
Active member
I'd hate to turn this into a debate on the best photography methods, but I'd just like to quickly offer something that I do that
I don't see others do very often/at all. Very simply, shoot outdoors. I am sort of ashamed to say that my minis actually photograph better than they appear IRL. A mostly cloudy day or a dawn sun seem to work best. I'll move the figure around quite a bit until I capture the perfect light. But when you find it, it really improves the paint job.
I don't see others do very often/at all. Very simply, shoot outdoors. I am sort of ashamed to say that my minis actually photograph better than they appear IRL. A mostly cloudy day or a dawn sun seem to work best. I'll move the figure around quite a bit until I capture the perfect light. But when you find it, it really improves the paint job.
Bailey03
Well-known member
Thanks, guys!
Yeah, daylight can be great for photographing your minis. Just be careful, when it's bright outside the light and shadows can be very harsh. That's why I like daylight bulbs, same general idea but I don't have to worry about whether it's bright, cloudy, raining, or whatever the conditions might be outdoors.
Well, Olfo is finished and the pictures have been submitted to the 5th Dimension contest. I probably could have still spent weeks tweaking things on the base and adding more stuff, but deadlines are a good motivation to wrap it up. I can't post any of the finished photos until he's been officially accepted into the contest, so here are a few teasers instead... :smile:
View attachment 29646 View attachment 29647
View attachment 29648
Yeah, daylight can be great for photographing your minis. Just be careful, when it's bright outside the light and shadows can be very harsh. That's why I like daylight bulbs, same general idea but I don't have to worry about whether it's bright, cloudy, raining, or whatever the conditions might be outdoors.
Well, Olfo is finished and the pictures have been submitted to the 5th Dimension contest. I probably could have still spent weeks tweaking things on the base and adding more stuff, but deadlines are a good motivation to wrap it up. I can't post any of the finished photos until he's been officially accepted into the contest, so here are a few teasers instead... :smile:
View attachment 29646 View attachment 29647
View attachment 29648
Demihuman
Active member
Niiiiiiiice!~ Spider webs! I can't wait to see!
As far as the outdoor photo thing goes. You probably can get better picts using natural light but my original question, which Bailey so kindly responded too, was how to get better and more consistent photos for WIPS and step by steps. Trying to wait fro the sun to come up or the sky to cloud over just takes to long. I can get decent photos but it takes a long time to set everything up.
Bailey03
Well-known member
Yup, that's me!
I didn't make the rules. Please send all complaints to the 5th Dimension c/o Skel. :tongue:
BloodFather of Kharnath
Active member
Skel hasn't got back to you yet? Shame on him for making us wait...
im in sure that setting up inside with lights and such gets better results. After all, this is what the professionals do for great macro pics. I just wanted to offer a quick alternative for those that lack the resources. I'll leave it alone, other than to say that I haven't encountered any day time conditions that limit my options. If it's too bright, I place the mini in some light shade. If it's very cloudy I just put the sun to my back and it seems to get enough light to eliminate any shadows. Admittedly, I haven't tried shooting during tornados or hurricanes, and shooting at night probably wouldn't work. Ever.
im in sure that setting up inside with lights and such gets better results. After all, this is what the professionals do for great macro pics. I just wanted to offer a quick alternative for those that lack the resources. I'll leave it alone, other than to say that I haven't encountered any day time conditions that limit my options. If it's too bright, I place the mini in some light shade. If it's very cloudy I just put the sun to my back and it seems to get enough light to eliminate any shadows. Admittedly, I haven't tried shooting during tornados or hurricanes, and shooting at night probably wouldn't work. Ever.
